VANIA RAMIREZ

Vania is third generation inhabitant of cooperativa La Técnica, one of the cooperatives created in the 1970s along the Usumacinta River, on the border with Mexico. Her grandparents and parents endured many hardships to settle in the middle of the forest. They also had to flee to Mexico during Guatemala’s civil war to escape the army.  Some of the cooperative leaders were persecuted for defending communal property and speaking against government’s abuses.  Vania is part of a young generation that hopes to find sustainable alternatives in agriculture, work to restore degraded landscapes, and protect key natural assets like Parque Nacional Sierra del Lacandón, which borders Cooperativa La Técnica.